Clean Air and the Baby Carriage

Children. They are vulnerable. They are innocent. They are the future. Perhaps that is why the American Lung Association has tapped into an iconic image to speak to the public about the need to fight for clean air.

"The Battleship Potemkin"

Back in 1925, director Sergei Einstein made film history with The Battleship Potemkin. His now famous shot of a baby carriage rolling down the Odessa Steps (released from a mother’s grasp after she had been shot by soldiers of the Tsar) has influenced scores of filmmakers. Brian DePalma paid homage to the montage in The Untouchables. That infant in a pram was caught in a shoot out between lawman Eliot Ness and mobster Al Capone, two clear-cut extremes of good and evil.

The bright red carriage in the current television ad is shown in a series of locations around Washington, D.C. Although the baby is never seen, it is heard coughing and wheezing—struggling to breathe. This carriage also ends up on an impressive set of steps…those belonging to The United States Capitol.

Will this get the attention of parents who may not know the facts on how toxic air pollutants emitted from coal-burning power plants affect children? Or that mercury impacts a growing child’s neurological system, which can then lead to developmental delays?

There is a mighty contingency out there that will continue to promote the concept that the Environmental Protection Agencyis Al Capone, not Eliot Ness. They include big corporations with vested interests, and elected officials promoting the disinformation that regulations will kill the economy. It’s the mantra from entrenched energy factions who don’t want to see an end to fossil fuels, despite what the science is telling us.

I hope that folks who have children will see that this should not be a political issue, but rather a cause for concern that they will do their best to learn about. Check out the American Meteorological Society’s page on the history of the Clean Air Act. You’ll be amazed to learn that “in 1306, King Edward I of England issued a proclamation banning the use of sea coal in London due to the smoke it caused.”

Posted by Marcia G. Yerman
on Aug 9th, 2011 and filed under Environment.
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